Labyrinth

Blown away. A classic for any collection.

Its a pretty spectacular album this!! A bit like Dimmu Borgir or Therion on steroids!!Definiteley one for fans of symphonic metal that like it heavy, fast & very dark. The vocals alone are very brutal and the drums are a full on world war. The guitars do in some ways serve the drums, vocals and the symphonic elements as opposed to the usual norm of being the other way around but that isn't a negative. If youre going to incorporate classical elements then don't be half assed and thankfully that's not the case here! You've got the whole gamut; choirs, female vocals and full orchestral swathes, massive strings etc. I'm not sure how much was generated in the studio as opposed to live but it sounds authentic. As is often the case in this subgenre, the bass guitar is pretty down the pecking order but not to any overall detriment.Opening two tracks stand out for me, Kingborn and Minotaur (Wrath Of Poseidon) - they overwhelmed me with the intensity but the rest of the album although sounding a little samey at times still holds strong.Recommended if you like this; Septic Flesh, Rotting Christ, Biomechanical, Therion, Dimmu Borgir, Cradle Of Filth, Hollenthon, Haggard, Epica

What a monster of an album this is. "Agony" was a masterpiece, this is something even beyond (if that's even possible). I should make a note right away that if you're not into the symphonic and operatic sounds that Fleshgod so deftly mixes into their intensely brutal tech-death-metal, well then you probably won't like this album. What might annoy you even more is Paolo Rossi's wailing banshee "operatic" vocals, which sound more like an opera singer being murdered somewhere in the blackest of night. Right from the first track "Kingborn" they hit you with the operatic vocals, lush symphonic movements that wash over you in waves. By the time you get to the second track "Minotaur" you are start thinking this shit is serious, this is metal that will be talked about 25 years from now, this will join the pantheon of epic metal recordings we hail today as genius.It occurs to me that I should point out the driving, intense metal is NOT some kind of loose reference in this recording, it's not in the background or a second thought. Neither is the operatic/symphonic/piano elements. As the artists have stated in many an interview, this is a painstakingly assembled recording. The drums -- the drums! they sound like .50 cal machine guns, so intense -- the drums, guitars, bass, all is mixed to perfection. I can't imagine anyone but Cristiano Trionfera on vocals, his guttrals give so much punch and dynamism to this album. I've read a few comments from Internet trolls saying the guitars are mixed too low. Rubbish.I have to admit that this is the only symphonic death metal band I listen to; I'm generally not a fan of the subgenre, mainly because I find symphonic music challenging to listen to. My taste in metal is pretty straight forward. But there is something about the way Fleshgod puts their songs together that overwhelmingly appeals to me. If I can find any real criticism it may be that in parts the music sounds a bit "samey", but I would say that occurs more often on their previous albums. "Labyrinth" seems to be a bit more mixed in tempo and rhythms than "Agony". This is most apparent (to me, anyway) in the track "Towards the Sun."This album delivers everything I want from Fleshgod; that drilling guitar/bass/drum sound that seems to hone in on a massive note and just lock into unified precision, the insane wailings from Rossi, the elegant symphony movements of Francesco Ferrini.Can I just add that I have studied Greek history as a hobby for about 15 years, so it's almost like these people know me in too many ways. That this album is an epic fantasy telling of King Minos and the Cretan empire is about the most spot-on subject I could ask for. If this album inspires anyone to pick up a copy of Herodotus or Thucydides all the better; the violence, gore, humanity and history in those books suits the music perfectly.

Full disclosure here, this usually isn’t my cup of tea. I love all types of metal and rock, but could never get into technical death metal. It wasn’t the harsh vocals, because they’re excellent, it was the music itself. There’s so much talent in the metal community, and tech-death is no exception. I just get bored of listening to tedious blast beats and unmemorable compositions. I would listen to an album and nothing would stand out. I’ve searched many tech-death bands to find something that breaks away from the constraints of the genre, of producing the heaviest, fastest music possible. With Fleshgod Apocalypse’s newest installment, I stand corrected.I’ve listened to some of Fleshgod’s previous albums, Oracles and Agony. I found much of those albums to be repetitive, but enjoyed much more from the latter. With Labyrinth, the band has a more prominent symphonic sound. The fact that this album is a concept album, based on the labyrinth of Knossos in Greek mythology, adds a great dynamic to the already impressive elements of this album. Who wouldn’t love a guy screaming in your ears about battle axes and Minotaurs? I know I sure would. Metal and symphony is like a fat sack of weed and a bacon donut, you just can’t not enjoy it. By the way, do not, I repeat, do not listen to this album stoned, epileptic seizures may ensue.This album is incredible, not only because of the symphonic elements, but the musicianship that these guys illustrate is incredible. Don’t believe when others say the symphonic elements overpower the bands contributions, because that’s not true. They mesh nicely, in a very sophisticated fashion. Francesco Paoli’s drumming really stands out on this album for me. There’s more diversity than I witnessed on previous releases and there is no filler on this album. The guitars and vocal ranges on this album are immense, and let’s face it, the gracefulness of the piano and orchestral arrangements would’ve made Beethoven s*** in his pants.If you have the same opinion as me regarding most tech-death, give this album a listen. It may change your mind…maybe even your life. Dun dun dun.

I thought I was going to be disappointed with this album given the lack of sound quality that I heard over the Internet. I also heard others saying that the guitars you can't hear. Buy this CD!!!!! Listen to it in your car, and you will NOT be disappointed. You can hear the sound so much clearer than you can on the Internet, it's like night and day. Some people may ask, "How did you listen to it on the internet?" Well, I found this one site that streamed it for free, so you could hear it before you bought it kind of thing. So I did, and I was a little apprehensive of the muffled sound of the guitars and bass drums as I'm really picky about things like that. When I got it in the mail though, I was proven wrong. Once again, don't listen to these people trying to say it's the worst recording and Septic Flesh is better because they have "real" orchestration. Well guess what. This album's orchestration is REAL apparently if you read the CD cover. It's even directed by George Kollias the drummer to Nile. Septic Flesh haters, eat your heart out!!! :)

i'm really enjoying this disc. so much better than agony. while agony certainly had it's gems, it was such a relentlessly brutal assault that i found my attention wandering elsewhere and tuning the music out. i realize i have a short attention span. oooh, look! something shiny!ok, i'm back. this album is much more cohesive, with the different elements working together to become greater than the sum of their parts as opposed to fighting each other to be heard as was the case on agony. the addition of the operatic female vocals really adds to fleshgod's grandiose performance and i feel like the overall symphonic element has stepped up it's game. fleshgod apocalypse is just over the top in every way and labyrinth really showcases that brilliant lunacy.